Groups Ask 2016 Candidates To Back Great Lakes Cleanup Funding

Great Lakes business, government and environmental groups are uniting to ask 2016 presidential candidates to support continued funding for cleaning up the lakes.

President Barack Obama’s administration has spent more than a billion dollars on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which includes projects like cleaning up harbors and wetlands. Lakes groups that often disagree have now come together to ask that this year’s presidential contenders pledge to maintain at least $300 million a year in funding.

Kathryn Buckner of the Council of Great Lakes Industries said cleaner lakes are an economic draw.

“Over the next decades, we think this region will become a magnet for industry, business and people who rely on and appreciate the value of fresh water,” she said.

Coalition members are not endorsing a candidate. But they say they’re hoping for answers as the presidential primaries ramp up in the Great Lakes region next week.